Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the first quarter, now owning 126,622 shares valued at approximately $13.39 million.
• Merit Medical reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.01 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $382.46 million, a 13.2% increase year-over-year.
• Around 99.66% of Merit Medical's stock is owned by institutional investors, highlighting significant institutional interest in the company.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,772 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Merit Medical Systems worth $13,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total transaction of $265,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI traded down $4.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 700,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,355. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 43.42, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50-day moving average is $88.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The company had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Merit Medical Systems Company Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.